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INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
NEWSDRIEFS
2
3
U of Minnesota session
educates international
students about pow wow
Constituents have had
enough lies
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
CLASSIFIEDS
4
7
page 3
page 4
MCT Right to Know
Brief challenges
discriminatory practices
against MCT members
page 5-6
Tribal agreement
cannot claim sovereign
immunity against
members
page 4
Fetal alcohol
syndrome in Indian
Country 101
page 4
Office of Self Governance questions total Leech
Lake HIP award of $1.5 million
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
The Department of Interior,
Office of Self-Governance (OSG),
in a letter to Chairman George
Goggleye, Jr., dated 9-20-06,
requests the Leech Lake Band
of Ojibwe (LLBO) comment on
an onsite review for fiscal years
2001-2003 ofthe Band's Housing
Improvement Program Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA). The review
took place in October 2005 with
Chairman Goggleye and the
Tribal Council's participation.
The letter is signed by Ken
Reinfeld, Acting Director of the
OSG. He requests a response by
November 1,2006.
In April 2006, the Midwest
Region sent the Band a copy
of the report dated February
2006. Reinfeld states, "The
report indicates there are
significant compliance issues
and calls into question all the
HIP [Housing Improvement
Program] expenditures for the
period reviewed. The questioned
Suspect wanted in
killing of Red Lake
man turns himself in
Associated Press
A man wanted in a killing on
the Red Lake Indian Reservation
was arrested Sunday after
turning himself in to Beltrami
County sheriffs officials, the
FBI announced.
The FBI said Jacob John
Lussier, 24, surrendered at the
county jail in Bemidji. He is
from Red Lake and also goes by
the name Jacob John Martin.
Lussier was wanted in the
Sept. 30 killing of 23-year-
old Harley James Sayers of
Red Lake. According to the
criminal complaint, Lussier
ordered Sayers to get out of a
vehicle on the reservation, then
allegedly shot and killed him
with a shotgun.
Lussier is charged in
federal court with first-degree
murder.
Pine Ridge boy
dies in stabbing
A 15-year-old boy was
stabbed to death Saturday
morning in Pine Ridge,
according to an FBI official.
Bob Perry, supervisory
senior resident agent in Rapid
City, said the incident occurred
between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.
"The victim died as a
result of a stab wound to his
chest," he said. "And another
juvenile was responsible for
the stabbing."
He said the stabbing was
"the result of an altercation
between two juveniles" and
that it occurred in the 'old
Sundance Road area.'
Perry did not indicate
whether the incident was being
ruled a homicide, something
he said the U.S. Attorney's
Office must decide.
Perry did not release the
name of the victim or the
other juvenile, but an obituary
for Jon W. Red Hawk, 15,
Pine Ridge, was published
in Tuesday's Rapid City
Journal.
costs are $1,511,553. This is the
total award of HIP funds for the
period reviewed and includes an
increase to the report total of
$13,000 which was not added to
the FY 2002 AFA [annual funds
award] until after the close ofthe
fiscal year."
The OSG requests comments
from the Band as well as
"documentation to support the
questioned costs" as follows:
*Charter or agreement
evidencing the relationship
between the Tribe and the Tribal
Housing Authority.
*Financial reports that show
the expenditure of HIP funds...
by month and year.
*Listing of all applicants who
received benefits and the amount
of benefits received.
*Documents to support the
eligibility of applicants who
received benefits.
*Financial reports that show
the amount of tribal funds used
to supplement the HIP funding.
The letter to the Band gives
the reminder that "The Tribe is
not authorized to redesign or to
reallocate any of the funds for
the programs, services, functions
and activities which are subject
to special restriction imposed by
the Appropriations Act or which
were awarded to the Tribe based
upon competition or a special
identified need."
In August of the review
year, 2005, Several Leech Lake
residents, Bruce and Richard
Johnson, Roxanne LaRose and
others, met in Minneapolis
with BIA officials and Leech
Lake Tribal Council members
in an effort to resolve questions
surrounding awards that had
been made without funding
having been provided.
At the conclusion of the
meeting, it was agreed by all
participants that a team of BIA
officials review the program with
an eye to improving it.
Minneapolis schools, Indian
agencies reach pact
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune
Minneapolis schools and
Indian community leaders are
hoping that a different approach
that embraces cultural practices
will improve the district's dismal
results for Indian students.
The school board on Tuesday
approved an agreement with
representatives of Indian agencies
that's been more than two years
in the making.
"Today is a good day to be an
Indian," said Peggy Flanagan,
the board's first Indian member.
Talks that culminated Tuesday
started before she was elected,
but she said she thinks having
to face her kept administrators
at the table when talks faltered.
The district's four-year graduation
rate for Indian students has risen
somewhat in recent years, but
remained ! at 38 percent in
the most recent count. More
than two-thirds graduated from
alternative schools.
- Tim Brown, the district's
Indian education director, said
the agreement moves beyond
merely grouping Indian students
and teachers together in schools
to a research-based approach that
gets results. It also represents
a shift in focus from what is
taught to teaching methods. The
agreement is intended to welcome
Indian parents and community
members into schools.
One first step is establishing
the third Thursday in November
as Native American Family
Involvement Day, the district's
second such racial designation.
A task force will flesh out what
PACT to page 3
Supreme Court move settles
tribal authority cases
Indianz.com.
Tribal jurisdiction over all
Indians appears to be safe after
the U.S. Supreme Court on
Monday rejected two cases,
including a long-running
challenge from activist Russell
Means.
Means, a member of the
Oglala Sioux Tribe, is accused
of committing a crime on the
Navajo Nation in 1997. He has
repeatedly claimed that the can't
be held responsible because he
isn't a Navajo citizen.
But after a string of appeals
in tribal and federal court, the
author and actor can now be
prosecuted for allegedly beating
up his former father-in-law
during a domestic violence
incident. The U.S. Supreme
Court's refusal to hear his
case clears the way for tribal
jurisdiction.
And in a separate action, the
Supreme Court rejected the case
of an Ojibwe man whose family
belongs to the Citizens Equal
Rights Alliance, an anti-treaty
right group. Thomas Lee Morris
was given a ticket for speeding
on the Flathead Reservation
in Montana but he claimed
the Confederated Salish and
Kootenai Tribes had no authority
over him.
Monday's actions put to rest
some of the lingering questions
over inherent tribal sovereignty.
Congress, through a piece of
legislation known as the "Duro"
fix - named for a Supreme Court
case from 1990 ~ has recognized
tribal jurisdiction over "all"
Indians.
In a critical 2004 ruling, the
Supreme Court upheld the
Duro fix as a proper exercise of
Congressional power. In US v.
Lara, the court also said tribal
prosecution does not violate the
Double Jeopardy Clause of the
COURT to page 3
Red Lake chairman schedules drug summit
By Dave Kolpack
Associated Press
FARGO, N.D. - The tribal
chairman of the Red Lake Band
of Chippewa said the tribe is
close to signing a cooperative
agreement with local and federal
task forces to help fight drugs
and violence on the reservation
in northwestern Minnesota.
Chairman Floyd "Buck"
Jourdain also announced Friday
that the tribe has scheduled
a Jan. 17 summit on drug
problems, particularly dealing
with methamphetamine and
crack cocaine.
"The problem here is the same
as anywhere else in America or
the state of Minnesota," Jourdain
said. "Our community members
have voiced very loudly that
something needs to be done, and
no single law enforcement entity
can take on such a task."
The summit will include
testimony from tribal agencies,
professionals, schools and
community members, Jourdain
said.
"We want to engage and
mobilize the community in
any anti-drug movement,"
Jourdain said. "There are so
many components that need to
be addressed."
Jourdain said he's negotiating
with law enforcement agencies
on a cooperative agreement that
Tribal Chairman Floyd
"Buck" Jourdain
would still allow Red Lake police
to maintain jurisdiction on the
reservation. The tribe previously
backed out of a joint task force
because Jourdain said he wanted
to protect tribal sovereignty.
Jourdain said he welcomes
the FBI's help on fighting drug
crimes. "They have jurisdiction
on major crimes on the
reservation anyway," he said.
Jourdain and Lisa Spears,
the tribe's self-governance
coordinator, said enforcement
efforts should be bolstered by a
$275,000 initiative in the federal
budget.
"We're stretched thin all the
way around in law enforcement,"
Spears said. "This will help us
concentrate more on drug issues
and things like that."
Jourdain was recently reelected as chairman after a
contentious campaign that
included a run-off election.
His first term was only two
years long, after he replaced
an interim chairman who was
serving after the sudden death
of tribe's previous leader.
Jourdain said the drug problem
has always been his priority,
but that he was sidetracked
by the March 2005 shootings
that left 10 people dead on the
reservation. The shootings hit
Jourdain particularly hard after
his teenage son was arrested
for exchanging threatening
e-mail messages with the teen
gunman.
"We were dealing with so many
other issues, it sent us reeling for
several months," Jourdain said.
"Now we're back on our feet, reenergized, with a good council,
a good government and people
who want to get involved."
Jourdain said he expects to
hire a public safety director and
a chief of police within the next
month.
"We have a some good
applicants who have experience
dealing with other agencies," he
said.
web page: www.press-on.net
Native ,4»--
American
Press
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication. Copyright, Native American Press, 2006
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 15
October 12, 2006
Joe Anderson, Native American Studies teacher at Helena High School explains the importance of
his class for all students, during an interview on Friday October 6,2006, in Helena, Mt. Seated behind
Anderson is Sammuel Salway, one of his students and a mentor to younger students. (AP Photo/Independent Record, George Lane)
Districts start Indian Education for All implementation
By Jennifer Byrd
Associated Press
HELENA - Joe Anderson's
eyes get big when he talks about
Indian Education for All.
A Helena High School English
teacher and a member of the
Blackfeet Tribe, Anderson has
been teaching American Indian
stories in his classroom for
more than 30 years. But now,
as an Indian education coach for
the district, he is helping other
teachers integrate American
Indian culture into their
classrooms and comply with a
state law.
"The idea is not to somehow
show Indian people in isolation,
but to show them as part of
the big circle of life," Anderson
said.
Indian Education for All is a
state law passed in 1999 that
requires Montana schools to
teach all students about the
state's American Indian tribes
and reservations. It expanded
upon a 1972 provision in the
Montana Constitution recognizing
the cultural heritage ofthe state's
Indian tribes and committing the
state to educational goals designed
to preserve their identity.
Despite the state law and
constitutional provision, the
Legislature did not fund the
requirement until a special session
in 2005. Schools are just now
starting to receive the money _
about $7 million in one-time funds
and $3 million in ongoing funds,
State Superintendent of Public
Instruction Linda McCuUoch
said.
In Helena, Anderson is working
with other literature teachers to
develop a "First Peoples, First
Stories" class unit for high school
juniors.
Students are reading stories
by American Indian authors and
studying tribes as part ofthe class.
State money has been used to buy
new books and materials for the
class.
Jordyn Pillatzke and Katrina
Schweitzer, both juniors, said
the class is their first specific
exposure in school to American
Indian culture and history.
"There have been a few things
here and there, but this is the
first actual course I've taken,"
Pillatzke said.
Luke Dutton, also a junior,
said learning about the tribes has
been interesting. He's discovered
that the tribes are significantly
different from one another.
"Back before we started this,
I kind of thought they were the
same," Dutton said. "But there
are a lot of differences that you
don't even know about until you
start looking at it."
Literature is just one area in
which Helena High School is
integrating American Indian
culture this year, Anderson said.
Freshman social studies classes
will study the different cultures
CLASS to page 3
Red Lake tradition is
concentrated at Ponemah
At the end ofthe road - literally - elders in a small
Red Lake community hold tight to the vanishing
Ojibwe traditions.
Dalton Walker, Star Tribune
PONEMAH, MINN. - Tucked
between Upper and Lower Red
Lake is a sacred place, rich in
culture and a unique way of
life. But those same qualities
might have a headlock on the
community and its growth.
To the 900 people who live there,
Ponemah is either a sanctuary or
an abyss. Some view it as one
of the few traditional places
remaining for Indians, while
others consider it just another
poor town on the Red Lake Indian
Reservation coping with drugs
and alcohol abuse.
Red Lake's elders lament that
younger generations have ignored
the Ojibwe culture, and the gap
between the youth and those who
know the traditions is growing.
Nowhere does that conflict
show itself more intensely than
in Ponemah, the most traditional
community on the northern
Minnesota reservation.
Sacred ceremonies still take
place in Ponemah. Traditional
burials with Ojibwe prayers and
offerings are the norm, as are
other ceremonies that elders
neither teach nor explain -- they
must be learned by observing and
participating.
At one time, all Red Lake
members had traditional naming
ceremonies, understood the
significance of the clan system
and spoke fluent Ojibwe.
The most significant change,
some say, is the loss of language.
"We are strong believers in
our ... culture and religion," said
75-year-old Eugene Stillday. "But
in recent years that has kind of
changed. Now we've got faster
modes of travel, new modern
things that come into our lives
like television, cell phones. We are
more into the white man's ways.
I can attribute that to the loss of
our language."
Today, about 50 fluent Ojibwe
speakers live in or near Ponemah,
said Stillday, who lives a few miles
east of the town. Most tribal
members speak some Ojibwe
words, such as boozhoo (hello),
miigwech (thank you), or niijii
(friend), but only a few can speak
full sentences.
The people of Ponemah are
known as Obaashinwininiwag,
after the village name Obaashing,
meaning "A place where the wind
blows over the point or land."
Stillday said he tries to teach
those who want to learn, but few
step forward. To his surprise last
winter, 42 people came together
in Ponemah to begin learning
Ojibwe. He said it was the largest
turnout in years, but the numbers
dipped as people quickly turned to
other priorities, he said.
"Without the language, we're
TRADITION to page 3
Cherokee
freedmen to
challenge
special election
By Christina Good Voice
Associated Press
OKLAHOMACnY- Descendants
of black slaves who have lived with
the Cherokee Indian tribe for
more than a century said Monday
they are outraged at an attempt to
exclude all non-Indians from the
tribe.
Members of the tribe will
vote Feb. 10 on a measure that
would make Indian ancestry
a requirement for tribal
membership.
Marilyn Vann, who has ancestry
of Black, Cherokee, Choctaw
and Chickasaw cultures, is the
president of the Descendants of
Freedmen of the Five Civilized
Tribes. She said her grandparents
and great-grandparents were
original Dawes Tribal enrollees.
Vann is a registered Cherokee
citizen and is registered to vote in
the special election, as are many
other freedmen. But Vann said
her rights as a Cherokee citizen
are trying to be stripped by her
fellow Cherokees.
"I am outraged for several
reasons... We have our rights
by treaty. Most of the freedmen
have blood rights," Vann said.
"We're only asking for what we've
been promised. We're not asking
for apologies. We're not asking
for money. We're asking to be
treated the same as other tribal
citizens."
ELECTION to page 4

INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
NEWSDRIEFS
2
3
U of Minnesota session
educates international
students about pow wow
Constituents have had
enough lies
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
CLASSIFIEDS
4
7
page 3
page 4
MCT Right to Know
Brief challenges
discriminatory practices
against MCT members
page 5-6
Tribal agreement
cannot claim sovereign
immunity against
members
page 4
Fetal alcohol
syndrome in Indian
Country 101
page 4
Office of Self Governance questions total Leech
Lake HIP award of $1.5 million
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
The Department of Interior,
Office of Self-Governance (OSG),
in a letter to Chairman George
Goggleye, Jr., dated 9-20-06,
requests the Leech Lake Band
of Ojibwe (LLBO) comment on
an onsite review for fiscal years
2001-2003 ofthe Band's Housing
Improvement Program Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA). The review
took place in October 2005 with
Chairman Goggleye and the
Tribal Council's participation.
The letter is signed by Ken
Reinfeld, Acting Director of the
OSG. He requests a response by
November 1,2006.
In April 2006, the Midwest
Region sent the Band a copy
of the report dated February
2006. Reinfeld states, "The
report indicates there are
significant compliance issues
and calls into question all the
HIP [Housing Improvement
Program] expenditures for the
period reviewed. The questioned
Suspect wanted in
killing of Red Lake
man turns himself in
Associated Press
A man wanted in a killing on
the Red Lake Indian Reservation
was arrested Sunday after
turning himself in to Beltrami
County sheriffs officials, the
FBI announced.
The FBI said Jacob John
Lussier, 24, surrendered at the
county jail in Bemidji. He is
from Red Lake and also goes by
the name Jacob John Martin.
Lussier was wanted in the
Sept. 30 killing of 23-year-
old Harley James Sayers of
Red Lake. According to the
criminal complaint, Lussier
ordered Sayers to get out of a
vehicle on the reservation, then
allegedly shot and killed him
with a shotgun.
Lussier is charged in
federal court with first-degree
murder.
Pine Ridge boy
dies in stabbing
A 15-year-old boy was
stabbed to death Saturday
morning in Pine Ridge,
according to an FBI official.
Bob Perry, supervisory
senior resident agent in Rapid
City, said the incident occurred
between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.
"The victim died as a
result of a stab wound to his
chest," he said. "And another
juvenile was responsible for
the stabbing."
He said the stabbing was
"the result of an altercation
between two juveniles" and
that it occurred in the 'old
Sundance Road area.'
Perry did not indicate
whether the incident was being
ruled a homicide, something
he said the U.S. Attorney's
Office must decide.
Perry did not release the
name of the victim or the
other juvenile, but an obituary
for Jon W. Red Hawk, 15,
Pine Ridge, was published
in Tuesday's Rapid City
Journal.
costs are $1,511,553. This is the
total award of HIP funds for the
period reviewed and includes an
increase to the report total of
$13,000 which was not added to
the FY 2002 AFA [annual funds
award] until after the close ofthe
fiscal year."
The OSG requests comments
from the Band as well as
"documentation to support the
questioned costs" as follows:
*Charter or agreement
evidencing the relationship
between the Tribe and the Tribal
Housing Authority.
*Financial reports that show
the expenditure of HIP funds...
by month and year.
*Listing of all applicants who
received benefits and the amount
of benefits received.
*Documents to support the
eligibility of applicants who
received benefits.
*Financial reports that show
the amount of tribal funds used
to supplement the HIP funding.
The letter to the Band gives
the reminder that "The Tribe is
not authorized to redesign or to
reallocate any of the funds for
the programs, services, functions
and activities which are subject
to special restriction imposed by
the Appropriations Act or which
were awarded to the Tribe based
upon competition or a special
identified need."
In August of the review
year, 2005, Several Leech Lake
residents, Bruce and Richard
Johnson, Roxanne LaRose and
others, met in Minneapolis
with BIA officials and Leech
Lake Tribal Council members
in an effort to resolve questions
surrounding awards that had
been made without funding
having been provided.
At the conclusion of the
meeting, it was agreed by all
participants that a team of BIA
officials review the program with
an eye to improving it.
Minneapolis schools, Indian
agencies reach pact
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune
Minneapolis schools and
Indian community leaders are
hoping that a different approach
that embraces cultural practices
will improve the district's dismal
results for Indian students.
The school board on Tuesday
approved an agreement with
representatives of Indian agencies
that's been more than two years
in the making.
"Today is a good day to be an
Indian," said Peggy Flanagan,
the board's first Indian member.
Talks that culminated Tuesday
started before she was elected,
but she said she thinks having
to face her kept administrators
at the table when talks faltered.
The district's four-year graduation
rate for Indian students has risen
somewhat in recent years, but
remained ! at 38 percent in
the most recent count. More
than two-thirds graduated from
alternative schools.
- Tim Brown, the district's
Indian education director, said
the agreement moves beyond
merely grouping Indian students
and teachers together in schools
to a research-based approach that
gets results. It also represents
a shift in focus from what is
taught to teaching methods. The
agreement is intended to welcome
Indian parents and community
members into schools.
One first step is establishing
the third Thursday in November
as Native American Family
Involvement Day, the district's
second such racial designation.
A task force will flesh out what
PACT to page 3
Supreme Court move settles
tribal authority cases
Indianz.com.
Tribal jurisdiction over all
Indians appears to be safe after
the U.S. Supreme Court on
Monday rejected two cases,
including a long-running
challenge from activist Russell
Means.
Means, a member of the
Oglala Sioux Tribe, is accused
of committing a crime on the
Navajo Nation in 1997. He has
repeatedly claimed that the can't
be held responsible because he
isn't a Navajo citizen.
But after a string of appeals
in tribal and federal court, the
author and actor can now be
prosecuted for allegedly beating
up his former father-in-law
during a domestic violence
incident. The U.S. Supreme
Court's refusal to hear his
case clears the way for tribal
jurisdiction.
And in a separate action, the
Supreme Court rejected the case
of an Ojibwe man whose family
belongs to the Citizens Equal
Rights Alliance, an anti-treaty
right group. Thomas Lee Morris
was given a ticket for speeding
on the Flathead Reservation
in Montana but he claimed
the Confederated Salish and
Kootenai Tribes had no authority
over him.
Monday's actions put to rest
some of the lingering questions
over inherent tribal sovereignty.
Congress, through a piece of
legislation known as the "Duro"
fix - named for a Supreme Court
case from 1990 ~ has recognized
tribal jurisdiction over "all"
Indians.
In a critical 2004 ruling, the
Supreme Court upheld the
Duro fix as a proper exercise of
Congressional power. In US v.
Lara, the court also said tribal
prosecution does not violate the
Double Jeopardy Clause of the
COURT to page 3
Red Lake chairman schedules drug summit
By Dave Kolpack
Associated Press
FARGO, N.D. - The tribal
chairman of the Red Lake Band
of Chippewa said the tribe is
close to signing a cooperative
agreement with local and federal
task forces to help fight drugs
and violence on the reservation
in northwestern Minnesota.
Chairman Floyd "Buck"
Jourdain also announced Friday
that the tribe has scheduled
a Jan. 17 summit on drug
problems, particularly dealing
with methamphetamine and
crack cocaine.
"The problem here is the same
as anywhere else in America or
the state of Minnesota," Jourdain
said. "Our community members
have voiced very loudly that
something needs to be done, and
no single law enforcement entity
can take on such a task."
The summit will include
testimony from tribal agencies,
professionals, schools and
community members, Jourdain
said.
"We want to engage and
mobilize the community in
any anti-drug movement,"
Jourdain said. "There are so
many components that need to
be addressed."
Jourdain said he's negotiating
with law enforcement agencies
on a cooperative agreement that
Tribal Chairman Floyd
"Buck" Jourdain
would still allow Red Lake police
to maintain jurisdiction on the
reservation. The tribe previously
backed out of a joint task force
because Jourdain said he wanted
to protect tribal sovereignty.
Jourdain said he welcomes
the FBI's help on fighting drug
crimes. "They have jurisdiction
on major crimes on the
reservation anyway," he said.
Jourdain and Lisa Spears,
the tribe's self-governance
coordinator, said enforcement
efforts should be bolstered by a
$275,000 initiative in the federal
budget.
"We're stretched thin all the
way around in law enforcement,"
Spears said. "This will help us
concentrate more on drug issues
and things like that."
Jourdain was recently reelected as chairman after a
contentious campaign that
included a run-off election.
His first term was only two
years long, after he replaced
an interim chairman who was
serving after the sudden death
of tribe's previous leader.
Jourdain said the drug problem
has always been his priority,
but that he was sidetracked
by the March 2005 shootings
that left 10 people dead on the
reservation. The shootings hit
Jourdain particularly hard after
his teenage son was arrested
for exchanging threatening
e-mail messages with the teen
gunman.
"We were dealing with so many
other issues, it sent us reeling for
several months," Jourdain said.
"Now we're back on our feet, reenergized, with a good council,
a good government and people
who want to get involved."
Jourdain said he expects to
hire a public safety director and
a chief of police within the next
month.
"We have a some good
applicants who have experience
dealing with other agencies," he
said.
web page: www.press-on.net
Native ,4»--
American
Press
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication. Copyright, Native American Press, 2006
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 15
October 12, 2006
Joe Anderson, Native American Studies teacher at Helena High School explains the importance of
his class for all students, during an interview on Friday October 6,2006, in Helena, Mt. Seated behind
Anderson is Sammuel Salway, one of his students and a mentor to younger students. (AP Photo/Independent Record, George Lane)
Districts start Indian Education for All implementation
By Jennifer Byrd
Associated Press
HELENA - Joe Anderson's
eyes get big when he talks about
Indian Education for All.
A Helena High School English
teacher and a member of the
Blackfeet Tribe, Anderson has
been teaching American Indian
stories in his classroom for
more than 30 years. But now,
as an Indian education coach for
the district, he is helping other
teachers integrate American
Indian culture into their
classrooms and comply with a
state law.
"The idea is not to somehow
show Indian people in isolation,
but to show them as part of
the big circle of life," Anderson
said.
Indian Education for All is a
state law passed in 1999 that
requires Montana schools to
teach all students about the
state's American Indian tribes
and reservations. It expanded
upon a 1972 provision in the
Montana Constitution recognizing
the cultural heritage ofthe state's
Indian tribes and committing the
state to educational goals designed
to preserve their identity.
Despite the state law and
constitutional provision, the
Legislature did not fund the
requirement until a special session
in 2005. Schools are just now
starting to receive the money _
about $7 million in one-time funds
and $3 million in ongoing funds,
State Superintendent of Public
Instruction Linda McCuUoch
said.
In Helena, Anderson is working
with other literature teachers to
develop a "First Peoples, First
Stories" class unit for high school
juniors.
Students are reading stories
by American Indian authors and
studying tribes as part ofthe class.
State money has been used to buy
new books and materials for the
class.
Jordyn Pillatzke and Katrina
Schweitzer, both juniors, said
the class is their first specific
exposure in school to American
Indian culture and history.
"There have been a few things
here and there, but this is the
first actual course I've taken,"
Pillatzke said.
Luke Dutton, also a junior,
said learning about the tribes has
been interesting. He's discovered
that the tribes are significantly
different from one another.
"Back before we started this,
I kind of thought they were the
same," Dutton said. "But there
are a lot of differences that you
don't even know about until you
start looking at it."
Literature is just one area in
which Helena High School is
integrating American Indian
culture this year, Anderson said.
Freshman social studies classes
will study the different cultures
CLASS to page 3
Red Lake tradition is
concentrated at Ponemah
At the end ofthe road - literally - elders in a small
Red Lake community hold tight to the vanishing
Ojibwe traditions.
Dalton Walker, Star Tribune
PONEMAH, MINN. - Tucked
between Upper and Lower Red
Lake is a sacred place, rich in
culture and a unique way of
life. But those same qualities
might have a headlock on the
community and its growth.
To the 900 people who live there,
Ponemah is either a sanctuary or
an abyss. Some view it as one
of the few traditional places
remaining for Indians, while
others consider it just another
poor town on the Red Lake Indian
Reservation coping with drugs
and alcohol abuse.
Red Lake's elders lament that
younger generations have ignored
the Ojibwe culture, and the gap
between the youth and those who
know the traditions is growing.
Nowhere does that conflict
show itself more intensely than
in Ponemah, the most traditional
community on the northern
Minnesota reservation.
Sacred ceremonies still take
place in Ponemah. Traditional
burials with Ojibwe prayers and
offerings are the norm, as are
other ceremonies that elders
neither teach nor explain -- they
must be learned by observing and
participating.
At one time, all Red Lake
members had traditional naming
ceremonies, understood the
significance of the clan system
and spoke fluent Ojibwe.
The most significant change,
some say, is the loss of language.
"We are strong believers in
our ... culture and religion," said
75-year-old Eugene Stillday. "But
in recent years that has kind of
changed. Now we've got faster
modes of travel, new modern
things that come into our lives
like television, cell phones. We are
more into the white man's ways.
I can attribute that to the loss of
our language."
Today, about 50 fluent Ojibwe
speakers live in or near Ponemah,
said Stillday, who lives a few miles
east of the town. Most tribal
members speak some Ojibwe
words, such as boozhoo (hello),
miigwech (thank you), or niijii
(friend), but only a few can speak
full sentences.
The people of Ponemah are
known as Obaashinwininiwag,
after the village name Obaashing,
meaning "A place where the wind
blows over the point or land."
Stillday said he tries to teach
those who want to learn, but few
step forward. To his surprise last
winter, 42 people came together
in Ponemah to begin learning
Ojibwe. He said it was the largest
turnout in years, but the numbers
dipped as people quickly turned to
other priorities, he said.
"Without the language, we're
TRADITION to page 3
Cherokee
freedmen to
challenge
special election
By Christina Good Voice
Associated Press
OKLAHOMACnY- Descendants
of black slaves who have lived with
the Cherokee Indian tribe for
more than a century said Monday
they are outraged at an attempt to
exclude all non-Indians from the
tribe.
Members of the tribe will
vote Feb. 10 on a measure that
would make Indian ancestry
a requirement for tribal
membership.
Marilyn Vann, who has ancestry
of Black, Cherokee, Choctaw
and Chickasaw cultures, is the
president of the Descendants of
Freedmen of the Five Civilized
Tribes. She said her grandparents
and great-grandparents were
original Dawes Tribal enrollees.
Vann is a registered Cherokee
citizen and is registered to vote in
the special election, as are many
other freedmen. But Vann said
her rights as a Cherokee citizen
are trying to be stripped by her
fellow Cherokees.
"I am outraged for several
reasons... We have our rights
by treaty. Most of the freedmen
have blood rights," Vann said.
"We're only asking for what we've
been promised. We're not asking
for apologies. We're not asking
for money. We're asking to be
treated the same as other tribal
citizens."
ELECTION to page 4